Appliance push-to-open system and method of installing the push-to-open system
An appliance is installed within a cabinet such that the appliance is not visible from outside the cabinet when a cabinet door of the cabinet is closed. The appliance includes a compartment and an appliance door that selectively seals the compartment. A push-to-open system is coupled to the appliance door. The push-to-open system includes an arm, a push latch and a spring. The arm connects the appliance door to the cabinet door, and the push latch selectively locks the arm in a locked position. The spring causes movement of the arm from the locked position to an unlocked position when the push latch is unlocked.
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The present invention pertains to the art of domestic appliances and, more particularly, to a push-to-open system for a domestic appliance, such as a refrigerator.
Frequently, homeowners are concerned not just with the functionality of their kitchens but also the aesthetics. Minimalism is one popular design style that is especially prevalent in the premium segment of certain markets. Minimalist designs often feature cabinets that lack handles, as well as appliances hidden behind the cabinets (i.e., built-in appliances). This presents a challenge in that the user needs to have a way to open the door of an appliance located within a handle-less cabinet.
For standard cabinets (i.e., those not concealing an appliance), a push-to-open system is sometimes used where pushing inward on the cabinet door triggers the system, which then pushes the door outward so that the user can reach between the door and the remainder of the cabinet to fully open the door. Although this works well for the relatively lighter doors of standard cabinets, when a cabinet door is used as or coupled to an appliance door, such as a refrigerator door of a built-in refrigerator, the weight of the door, as well as the seal provided by a refrigerator door, makes it difficult for a typical push-to-open system to push the door outwards a sufficient distance.
To address this problem, electromechanical push-to-open systems have been developed. However, such systems are larger and more expensive than mechanical push-to-open systems. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a push-to-open system that can be used with an appliance door but that is smaller and less expensive than known electromechanical push-to-open systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention achieves the above goal through a push-to-open system that is coupled to an appliance door of a built-in appliance. The push-to-open system includes an arm, a push latch and a spring. The arm is configured to connect the appliance door to a cabinet door, and the push latch is configured to selectively lock the arm in a locked position. The spring is configured to cause movement of the arm from the locked position to an unlocked position when the push latch is unlocked.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to common parts in the several views.
Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to construct and employ the present invention.
With initial reference to
Turning to
As will be discussed in more detail below, fresh food door 205 is coupled to cabinet door 121 to enable a user to open fresh food door 205 without having to directly interact with fresh food door 205. This allows fresh food door 205 to be concealed behind cabinet door 121 without impairing the use of refrigerator 200. This same goal is also achieved for the freezer door by coupling the freezer door to cabinet door 119.
With reference now to
In the embodiment illustrated, fresh food door 205 and freezer door 300 are coupled to the remainder of refrigerator 200 by hinges 310 located on the right side of refrigerator 200 (relative to the view shown in
Turning to
With reference now to
Turning to
With reference now to
Push-to-open system 320 can be seen coupled to top 325 of fresh food door 205, with
With arm 410 in an unlocked position, the gap between cabinet door 121 and the rest of cabinetry 100, as well as between cabinet door 121 and fresh food door 205, is now sufficiently large that a user is able to insert his or her hand behind cabinet door 121 to grasp cabinet door 121. Since cabinet door 121 is coupled to fresh food door 205 by push-to-open system 320, pulling cabinet door 121 outward, away from the remainder of cabinet 111, also opens fresh food door 205. In other words, cabinet door 121 essentially acts as a handle for fresh food door 205, allowing cabinet door 121 and fresh food door 205 to be handle-less. In one embodiment, cabinet door 121 is positioned at about 4° relative to the remainder of cabinet 111 when arm 410 is in its neutral position, which creates either 25 or 45 millimeters of space for the user's hand, depending on whether another cabinet door is located adjacent to the gap (e.g., cabinet door 120).
Along these lines, it should be emphasized that, unlike certain prior art push-to-open systems, push-to-open system 320 does not open fresh food door 205. Instead, push-to-open system 320 causes relative movement between cabinet door 121 and fresh food door 205, enabling the user to open fresh food door 205 using cabinet door 121. This relative movement should be apparent when comparing
Comparing
Turning to
Although described in connection with a refrigerator, it should be recognized that the push-to-open system of the present invention can be used with other appliances. For example, the push-to-open system can be used with a dishwasher or microwave installed within a cabinet. With respect to dishwashers, where the doors typically pivot about horizontal axes, the push-to-open system can be rotated 90°. Furthermore, while the embodiment illustrated utilizes two push-to-open systems per door, this is not required. Nor do the push-to-open systems need to be provided at the top or bottom of a door. Instead, for example, a push-to-open system can be provided in a recess in a center of a door.
Based on the above, it should be readily apparent that the present invention provides a push-to-open system that can be used with an appliance door but that is smaller and less expensive than an electromechanical push-to-open system. While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been set forth, it should be understood that various changes or modifications could be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising:
- an appliance including: a compartment; and an appliance door configured to selectively seal the compartment;
- a push-to-open system coupled to the appliance door, the push-to-open system including: an arm configured to connect the appliance door to a cabinet door; a push latch configured to selectively lock the arm in a locked position; and a spring configured to cause movement of the arm from the locked position to an unlocked position when the push latch is unlocked.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured such that, when the appliance is installed within a cabinet with the arm connecting the appliance door to the cabinet door, movement of the arm from the locked position to the unlocked position causes movement of the cabinet door relative to the appliance door, enabling a user to grasp the cabinet door and pull on the cabinet door to open the appliance door.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the arm is configured to pivot relative to the appliance door.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the arm is configured to pivot between the locked and unlocked positions.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured such that, when the appliance is installed within a cabinet with the arm connecting the appliance door to the cabinet door, pushing the cabinet door towards the appliance door unlocks the push latch.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the push latch and the arm has a receiver and the other of the push latch and the arm has a plunger configured to selectively mate with the receiver.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the push-to-open system further includes:
- a runner configured to be coupled to the cabinet door; and
- a slide coupled to the arm and configured to move along the runner.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the appliance door does not include a handle.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the appliance is a refrigerator, the compartment is a fresh food compartment or a freezer compartment, and the appliance door is a refrigerator door.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a cabinet including the cabinet door, the appliance is located within the cabinet such that the appliance is not visible from outside the cabinet when the cabinet door is closed, and the cabinet door does not include a handle.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the push-to-open system is directly coupled to the cabinet door.
12. A push-to-open system comprising:
- an arm configured to connect an appliance door to a cabinet door;
- a push latch configured to selectively lock the arm in a locked position; and
- a spring configured to cause movement of the arm from the locked position to an unlocked position when the push latch is unlocked.
13. The push-to-open system of claim 12, wherein the push-to-open system is configured such that, when the arm connects the appliance door to the cabinet door, movement of the arm from the locked position to the unlocked position causes movement of the cabinet door relative to the appliance door, enabling a user to grasp the cabinet door and pull on the cabinet door to open the appliance door.
14. The push-to-open system of claim 12, wherein the arm is configured to pivot relative to the appliance door.
15. The push-to-open system of claim 12, wherein the arm is configured to pivot between the locked and unlocked positions.
16. The push-to-open system of claim 12, wherein the push-to-open system is configured such that, when the arm connects the appliance door to the cabinet door, pushing the cabinet door towards the appliance door unlocks the push latch.
17. The push-to-open system of claim 12, wherein one of the push latch and the arm has a receiver and the other of the push latch and the arm has a plunger configured to selectively mate with the receiver.
18. The push-to-open system of claim 12, further comprising:
- a runner configured to be coupled to the cabinet door; and
- a slide coupled to the arm and configured to move along the runner.
19. A method of installing a push-to-open system, the method comprising:
- coupling the push-to-open system to an appliance door of an appliance, wherein the appliance includes a compartment, and the appliance door is configured to selectively seal the compartment; and
- connecting the appliance door to a cabinet door with an arm of the push-to-open system, wherein the push-to-open system includes a push latch configured to selectively lock the arm in a locked position and a spring configured to cause movement of the arm from the locked position to an unlocked position when the push latch is unlocked.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the compartment is a fresh food compartment or a freezer compartment of a refrigerator.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein connecting the appliance door to the cabinet door includes connecting the appliance door to the cabinet door of a cabinet in which the appliance is located such that the appliance is not visible from outside the cabinet when the cabinet door is closed.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 31, 2019
Date of Patent: Jun 9, 2020
Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation (Benton Harbor, MI)
Inventors: Paolo Contin (Vergiate), Piotr Jozef Grzyb (Wroclaw), Matteo Moroni (Milan)
Primary Examiner: Hanh V Tran
Application Number: 16/263,738
International Classification: F25D 23/02 (20060101); E05B 65/00 (20060101);